Flat Pack Kitchen Tongs

Introduction: Flat Pack Kitchen Tongs

This kitchen tool will help you save space in your drawers. Instead of buying a full set of kitchen tongs you can just use spoons or forks that you already have in your kitchen and use them as tongs.

Teacher Notes

Teachers! Did you use this instructable in your classroom? Add a Teacher Note to share how you incorporated it into your lesson.

Step 1: What Do You Need

Tools:

-saw

-clamps

-caulking gun

-sanding paper

-meter

Materials:

-plywood

-wood glue

-silicone caulk

-release agent

Step 2: Making the Mold

Because our product is made entirely from silicone we first have to make a mold. This is a basic mold made out of two parts that have a snug fit. I made this out of plywood. The outside measurements of the mold don't really matter but the inside measurements of my mold are 145x30x16 (cm), but you can make it as big or small as you want. Saw the pieces you need and glue them together, just make sure the two pieces fit. In the end i made two tabs that go on both of the sides of the mold so when the silicon is dry we will have to holes to put our spoons or forks in. Again you can dimension these tabs as you want, i measured some different spoons and forks to make sure everything would fit. It's better that these holes are a little bit to small than to big.

Step 3: Inserting the Silicon

When the mold is ready you can insert the silicon. But before i did this i sprayed the mold with some release agent so i wont have any problem getting the product out of the mold. After this i put the silicone on the part with the tabs for the holes. Make sure you get enough silicon under the tabs. And don't save out on silicon so you're sure the mold is completely full. After this i put the other piece of the mold on top of the other and i secured the two pieces to each other with clamps. Now scrape of the excess silicone of the mold and place it in a dry area so it can harden.

Step 4: Get the Product Out of the Mold

When you waited for a day or so you can open your mold and easily pull out your silicone form. make sure you dont rip it and pay extra attention to the tabs on the side of the mold. If you want to use your mold again pull it out extra easy so you don't brake it. You will feel if the silicone has dried on the inside. If it is still squishy just leave it again for some time. When you pulled the product out of the mold you will see some surplus material that has slipped through the cracks of your mold. Just remove this with an exacto knife.

Step 5: Using the Product

If the silicone is completely dried up you cut holes in both sides of the product so you can put your spoons or forks inside it and use it in your kitchen.